Summary

The most trusted and authoritative name in handbooks, "The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises" is an easy-to-use reference that will answer any question you may have in grammar, writing, or research. It also includes exercises so you can practice skills. This edition offers the latest information on writing with computers, writing online, analyzing visuals, and researching effectively on the Internet. With clear explanations, a wealth of examples, and quick reference checklists and boxes, "The Little, Brown Compact Handbook" will makes it easy to find what you need and use the information you find. Will answer any question a writer has about grammar, the writing process, or research. The writing process, critical thinking, argumentative writing, style, grammar, mechanics, usage, the research process, how to document sources. Anyone who wants a reliable writing reference book.

Table of Contents

Preface for Students: Using This Book

v

Preface for Instructors

ix

PART I The Writing Process

1

(116)

Assessing Your Writing Situation

2

(16)

Understanding how Writing Happens

2

(2)

Analyzing the Writing Situation

4

(2)

Discovering and Limiting a Subject

6

(4)

Considering the Audience

10

(5)

Defining a Purpose

15

(3)

Developing and Shaping Your Ideas

18

(30)

Discovering Ideas

18

(12)

Developing a Thesis

30

(5)

Organizing Ideas

35

(13)

Drafting and Revising

48

(25)

Writing the First Draft

48

(4)

Revising the First Draft

52

(8)

Editing the Revised Draft

60

(3)

Preparing and Proofreading the Final Draft

63

(3)

Giving and Receiving Comments

66

(3)

Preparing a Writing Portfolio

69

(4)

Writing and Revising Paragraphs

73

(44)

Maintaining Paragraph Unity

75

(5)

Achieving Paragraph Coherence

80

(13)

Developing the Paragraph

93

(13)

Writing Special Kinds of Paragraphs

106

(7)

Linking Paragraphs in the Essay

113

(4)

PART II Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

117

(64)

Taking a Critical Perspective

118

(23)

Thinking and Reading Critically

119

(18)

Writing Critically

137

(4)

Reading Arguments Critically

141

(21)

Recognizing the Elements of Argument

141

(2)

Testing Claims

143

(3)

Weighing Evidence

146

(4)

Discovering Assumptions

150

(1)

Watching Language, Hearing Tone

151

(1)

Judging Reasonableness

152

(3)

Recognizing Fallacies

155

(7)

Writing on Argument

162

(19)

Finding a Topic

162

(1)

Conceiving a Thesis

163

(1)

Analyzing your Purpose and your Audience

164

(1)

Using Reason

165

(5)

Using Evidence

170

(1)

Reaching your Readers

171

(4)

Organizing your Argument

175

(1)

Revising your Argument

176

(1)

Examining a Sample Argument

177

(4)

PART III Using Computers Critically

181

(72)

Becoming Computer Literate

182

(18)

Writing and Revising with a Word Processor

182

(4)

Working with Spelling Checkers and other Writing Tools

186

(6)

Using Electronic Mail

192

(5)

Going Places on the Web

197

(1)

Developing other Computer Skills

198

(2)

Designing Documents

200

(24)

Considering Principles of Design

200

(3)

Using the Elements of Design

203

(12)

Designing Academic Papers

215

(3)

Designing Reports, Newsletters, and Brochures

218

(6)

Composing for the Web

224

(19)

Distinguishing Web Compositions from Printed Documents

224

(3)

Writing and Designing for the Web

227

(8)

Using HTML

235

(8)

Collaborating Online

243

(10)

Collaborating Using Electronic Mail

243

(3)

Collaborating Using Web Class Tools

246

(6)

Collaborating Using Internet Applications

252

(1)

PART IV Grammatical Sentences

253

(110)

Understanding Sentence Grammar

254

(38)

Understanding the Basic Sentence

255

(8)

Expanding the Basic Sentence with Single Words

263

(3)

Expanding the Basic Sentence with Word Groups

266

(16)

Compounding Words, Phrases, and Clauses

282

(4)

Changing the Usual Order of the Sentence

286

(3)

Classifying Sentences

289

(3)

Case of Nouns and Pronouns

292

(9)

Compound Subjects and Complements

293

(1)

Compound Objects

294

(1)

We or Us with a Noun

295

(1)

Appositives

295

(1)

Pronoun after Than or As in a Comparison

296

(1)

Subjects and Objects of Infinitives

296

(1)

Who vs. Whom

297

(2)

Case before a Gerund

299

(2)

Verbs

301

(32)

Verb Forms

301

(2)

Regular and Irregular Verbs

303

(3)

Sit and Set; Lie and Lay; Rise and Raise

306

(1)

Omitted -s and -ed Endings

307

(1)

Helping Verbs

308

(5)

Verb Plus Ground or Infinitive ESL

313

(3)

Verb Plus Particle ESL

316

(2)

Tense

318

(1)

Appropriate tense for Meaning

318

(3)

Sequence of tenses

321

(7)

Mood

327

(1)

Subjunctive Verb Forms

328

(3)

Voice

329

(2)

Active vs. Passive Voice

331

(2)

Agreement

333

(15)

Agreement Between Subject and Verb

333

(8)

Agreement Between Pronoun and Antecedent

341

(7)

Adjectives and Adverbs

348

(15)

Adjectives only with Nouns and Pronouns

349

(1)

Adjectives with Linking Verbs

349

(1)

Adjectives with Objects; Adverbs with Verbs

350

(1)

Short Forms and -ly Forms of Adverbs

351

(1)

Comparative and Superlative Forms

352

(2)

Double Negatives

354

(1)

Overuse of Nouns as Modifiers

354

(1)

Present and Past Participles as Adjectives ESL

355

(1)

A, an, the, and Other Determiners ESL

356

(7)

PART V Clear Sentences

363

(54)

Sentence Fragments

364

(9)

Tests for Sentence Completeness; Revision of Fragments

365

(3)

Subordinate Clause

368

(1)

Verbal or Prepositional Phrase

369

(1)

Other Fragments

370

(1)

Acceptable Uses of Incomplete Sentences

371

(2)

Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

373

(8)

Comma Splices

375

(1)

Main Clauses not Joined by Coordinating Conjunction

375

(2)

Main Clauses Related by a Conjunctive Adverb or Transitional Expression

377

(2)

Fused Sentences

379

(1)

Main Clauses with No Conjunction or Punctuation

379

(2)

Pronoun Reference

381

(8)

Clear Reference to One Antecedent

381

(2)

Clear Placement of Pronoun and Antecedent

383

(1)

Reference to Specific Antecedent

384

(1)

Indefinite Use of It, They, You

385

(1)

Clear Use of It

386

(1)

Appropriate use of Relative Pronouns

386

(3)

Shifts

389

(7)

Person and Number

390

(1)

Tense and Mood

391

(2)

Subject and Voice

393

(1)

Indirect and Direct Quotations and Questions

394

(2)

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

396

(11)

Misplaced Modifiers

396

(1)

Clear Placement of Modifiers

396

(1)

Limiting Modifiers

397

(1)

Squinting Modifiers

398

(1)

Separation of Subjects, Verbs, and Objects

399

(1)

Separation of Parts of Infinitives or Verb Phrases

400

(1)

Position of Adverbs ESL

401

(1)

Order of Adjectives ESL

402

(1)

Dangling Modifiers

403

(1)

Dangling Modifiers

403

(4)

Mixed and Incomplete Sentences

407

(10)

Mixed Sentences

407

(1)

Mixed Grammar

407

(2)

Mixed Meaning (faulty predication)

409

(3)

Incomplete Sentences

412

(1)

Compound Constructions

412

(1)

Comparisons

413

(1)

Careless Omissions

414

(3)

PART VI Effective Sentences

417

(42)

Emphasizing Ideas

418

(11)

Using Subjects and Verbs Effectively

419

(1)

Using Sentence Beginnings and Endings

420

(3)

Arranging Parallel Elements Effectively

423

(2)

Repeating Ideas

425

(1)

Separating Ideas

425

(1)

Being Concise

426

(3)

Using Coordination and Subordination

429

(13)

Coordinating to Relate Equal Ideas

431

(3)

Subordinating to Distinguish Main Ideas

434

(5)

Choosing Clear Connectors

439

(3)

Using Parallelism

442

(7)

Using Parallelism for Coordinate Elements

442

(5)

Using Parallelism to Increase Coherence

447

(2)

Achieving Variety

449

(10)

Varying Sentence Length and Structure

450

(2)

Varying Sentence Beginnings

452

(3)

Inverting the Normal Word Order

455

(1)

Mixing Types of Sentences

455

(4)

PART VII Punctuation

459

(74)

Chart

460

(2)

End Punctuation

462

(5)

The Period

462

(1)

With Statements, Mild Commands, and Indirect Questions

462

(1)

With Abbreviations

463

(1)

The Question Mark

464

(1)

With Direct Questions

464

(1)

To Indicate Doubt

464

(1)

The Exclamation Point

465

(1)

With Emphatic Statements, Interjections, and Commands

465

(1)

Overuse

465

(2)

The Comma

467

(24)

Main Clauses Linked by Coordinating Conjunction

469

(2)

Introductory Elements

471

(2)

Nonessential Elements

473

(5)

Absolute Phrases

478

(1)

Phrases Expressing Contrast

478

(1)

Series and Coordinate Adjectives

479

(2)

Dates, Addresses, Place Names, Long Numbers

481

(1)

With Quotations

482

(3)

To Prevent Misreading

485

(1)

Misuse and Overuse

485

(6)

The Semicolon

491

(9)

Main Clauses not Joined by a Coordinating Conjunction

491

(3)

Main Clauses Related by a Conjunctive Adverb or Transitional Expression

494

(1)

Long or Internally Punctuated Main Clauses

495

(1)

Long or Internally Punctuated Series Items

496

(1)

Misuse and Overuse

497

(3)

The Apostrophe

500

(8)

Possessive Case

500

(3)

Misuse with Noun Plurals, Verbs, and Personal Pronouns

503

(1)

Contractions

504

(2)

Plurals of Abbreviations, Dates, and Words or Characters Named as Words

506

(2)

Quotation Marks

508

(11)

Direct Quotations

508

(3)

Chart

509

(2)

Quotation within a Quotation

511

(1)

Dialogue, Poetry, and Long Prose Passages

511

(3)

Titles of Songs, Short Stories, and So On

514

(1)

Words used in a Special Sense

515

(1)

Overuse

515

(1)

Placement with other Punctuation Marks

516

(3)

Other Punctuation Marks

519

(14)

The Colon

519

(3)

The Dash

522

(3)

Parentheses

525

(1)

Brackets

526

(1)

The Ellipsis Mark

527

(3)

The Slash

530

(3)

PART VIII Mechanics

533

(24)

Capitals

534

(7)

First Word of Sentence

534

(1)

Titles of Works

535

(1)

Pronoun I and Interjection O

536

(1)

Proper Nouns and Adjectives

536

(2)

Titles Before Proper Names

538

(1)

Unnecessary Capitalization

538

(3)

Underlining or Italics

541

(4)

Underlining vs. Italics

541

(1)

Titles of Books, Periodicals, and so on

541

(2)

Names of Ships, Aircraft, Spacecraft, trains

543

(1)

Foreign Words and Phrases

543

(1)

Words, Letters, and Numbers Named as Words

543

(1)

For Emphasis

543

(1)

In Online Communication

544

(1)

Abbreviations

545

(8)

Titles Before and After Proper Names

546

(1)

Familiar Abbreviations and Acronymns

546

(1)

BC, AD, AM, PM, no., and &dollar;

546

(1)

Latin Abbreviations

547

(1)

Inc., Bros., Co., and &

547

(1)

Misuse with Units of Measurement, Geographical Names, and So On

548

(2)

Numbers

Numerals vs. Words

550

(1)

For Dates, Addresses, and So On

551

(1)

Beginning Sentences

552

(1)

Word Division

553

(4)

Ends and Beginnings of Lines

553

(1)

Hyphenated Words

553

(1)

Electronic Addresses

554

(1)

Confusing Word Divisions

554

(3)

PART IX Effective Words

557

(60)

Choosing and Using Words

558

(28)

Choosing the Appropriate Word

558

(9)

Choosing the Exact Word

567

(11)

Writing Concisely

578

(8)

Using Dictionaries

586

(7)

Choosing a Dictionary

586

(3)

Working with a Dictionary's Contents

589

(4)

Improving Your Vocabulary

593

(10)

Understanding the Sources of English

593

(2)

Learning the Composition of Words

595

(4)

Learning to Use New Words

599

(4)

Spelling and the Hyphen

603

(14)

Recognizing Typical Spelling Problems

603

(3)

Following Spelling Rules

606

(4)

Developing Spelling Skills

610

(5)

Using the Hyphen to Form Compound Words

615

(2)

PART X Research Writing

617

(168)

Planning a Research Project

618

(15)

Starting Out

619

(2)

Finding a Researchable topic and Question

621

(3)

Developing a Research Strategy

624

(3)

Making a Working Bibliography

627

(6)

Finding Sources

633

(34)

Searching Electronically

633

(6)

Finding Reference Works

639

(4)

Finding Books

643

(3)

Finding Periodicals

646

(6)

Finding Sources on the World Wide Web

652

(7)

Finding Other Online Sources

659

(3)

Finding Pamphlets and Government Publications

662

(1)

Generating your Own Sources

663

(4)

Working with Sources

667

(33)

Evaluating Sources

667

(6)

Synthesizing Sources

673

(2)

Taking Notes Using Summary, Paraphrase, and Direct Quotation

675

(11)

Avoiding Plagiarism

686

(7)

Integrating Sources into Your Text

693

(5)

Documenting Sources

698

(2)

Writing the Paper

700

(10)

Developing a Thesis Statement

700

(1)

Creating a Structure

701

(3)

Drafting the Paper

704

(3)

Revising and Editing the Paper

707

(1)

Preparing and Proofreading the Final Draft

708

(2)

Documenting Sources in MLA Style

710

(34)

Understanding MLA Style

710

(1)

Citing Sources in Your Text: MLA Style

711

(8)

Preparing the List of Works Cited: MLA Style

719

(25)

Two Sample Research Papers

744

(41)

``The Information Superhighway: Toll Road or Public Way?''

746

(33)

``Annie Dillard's Healing Vision''

779

(6)

PART XI Writing in the Academic Disciplines

785

(108)

Working with the Disciplines' Goals and Requirements

786

(4)

Using the Disciplines' Methods and Evidence

787

(1)

Understanding the Disciplines' Writing Assignments

787

(1)

Using the Disciplines' Tools and Language

788

(1)

Following the Disciplines' Styles for Source Citations and Document Format